The Inspiration - AU
by futurepsychologist
Summary: Based on CMS9 premiere - what would've happened if JJ hadn't warned Morgan about the semi truck? Both lives are in jeopardy. JJ/Morgan pairing. JJ season 9-arc speculation fic. Chapter 7 now up. First story, let me know what you think.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**:

"That's it! That's him!" she pointed out to the black ford ten meters ahead of them. "In pursuit of a black Ford Taurus, going westbound on Washington Crossing State, Arizona license plate 5-2-B-7-H-N" she put the radio down and held on to the interior handles of the SUV. Morgan's driving was excellent – not once has he ever caused an accident during these car chases, but it was still rough to be in the passenger seat. The car in pursuit was going crazy – swerving around other cars, zigzagging on the road. It was difficult for Morgan to keep up. He stepped on the gas, catching up to the suspect. But the car slowed down, into a stop, crashing into a red truck that had been parked on the side of the road. They were relieved the chase was over. JJ undid her seatbelt, looking forward into nothing; glad they didn't crash into anything.

Suddenly, the honk of a semi inched closer and closer to the agents' SUV. Agent Jareau shot her head to her right, staring into the headlights of the semi truck. But before she could warn Morgan,

It was already too late.


	2. Aftermath

**Chapter 1**

Derek woke instantly to a shocking jolt that went through his body. It didn't take his brain long to register that they had just been in a huge accident, and that his partner was the first to get hit by the truck. He turned to the side to look at her. "Damn it!" He yelled. In seconds, he ripped the seatbelt off himself to assess the extent of his partner's injuries, talking to her to try to keep her awake.

"JJ? Can you hear me? JJ!" She let out a small moan of pain. She had no idea what just happened, and she didn't know what was happening. She could hear Morgan's muffled yelling, but all she knew was that she wanted to sleep. He took the radio and screamed into it for help. "This is SSA Derek Morgan, code red, we've just been involved in a collision involving a semi truck, and I have an agent down! I repeat, I have an agent down, and I need paramedics here now!" He threw the radio and carefully held her bloody face, examining the very large gash above her eye that was dripping blood down her face to her shirt. She was suffering from multiple gashes and cuts.

"Baby girl, please stay awake for me! Stay with me" He held on to her hand. He couldn't believe this was happening to him again. He couldn't stand 'losing' Prentiss to Doyle, let alone JJ to a stupid semi truck. "JJ, please, squeeze my hand if you're still awake! I need to know you're still there!"

And a small squeeze came to his hand. "It's okay princess, I'm right here. Help will be here soon, just keep squeezing my hand." He closed his eyes, trying to think.

But his eyes flew right open when he heard a slight mumble coming from JJ. She weakly looked into his eyes.

"Derek…" she paused. He was listening. "Derek I… My head uh… it feels really, really weird,"

Morgan carefully moved his body halfway between the two seats to look at the back of her head.

_Shit!_

There was a shard of glass embedded in the stem of her neck, connecting to the back of her head. It must've come from the window.

He started freaking out, as blood started dripping from her mouth.

An officer ran to his side. The truck was blocking off JJ's door completely. "Anything I can do?" the officer was young. He looked scared. He was new.

"Uh... Yeah, find something to help stop the bleeding from her face and head, now!" The young officer ran off to the squad car. There was no medical kit, but there were extra shirts in the trunk. Morgan started ripping the shirts into strips to tie around her head. He carefully wrapped the pieces around the shard of glass in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He had limited medical training, but he remembered that if there were an object protruding from someone's body, the first thing to do is carefully wrap something around the object, and not take it out whatsoever. However, he knew that it wasn't going to be enough. He just hoped that the medics would come soon.

Derek desperately wanted to get her out of there, but if he moved her, he feared that he would only make her injuries worse. Her eyes were starting to close.

"Derek... I... uh..." she mumbled again.

"It's alright JJ, I've got you. Don't speak, save your breath." Derek showed nothing but pain on his face. For the first time, he was scared. Scared of losing his partner again. This was his fault. He shouldn't have stopped in the middle of a busy road. He should have seen the truck coming. He couldn't figure out how to forgive himself. She was slurring her words, and she was losing blood too fast.

The medics finally arrived.

Morgan was beyond grateful, but her eyes were starting to close. "No, no, no, JJ, stay with me! Look, the medics are right here! Just keep those beautiful big blue eyes open for me, alright?"

The first medic came in through the back seat to assess her injuries. "Agent Morgan, I'm going to need to you to move so we can help Agent Jareau here." The second medic ran in with a C-collar, backboard and oxygen tank. Morgan backed off the medics and watched in horror as they worked to keep her awake and attend to her injuries. He could see Hotch and Rossi running up to the scene form a distance. He slowly backed away from the SUV and fell to his knees. Something didn't feel right – his chest felt like it was going to explode. His heart started pounding at an alarming rate. It was getting harder to breathe. His vision was going blurry. Soon he was laying face first on the ground. He could hear muffled voices yelling, but couldn't exactly make out what they were saying. Instantly, he was turned on his back and saw a medic shining a light into his eyes. Hotch and Rossi were standing above him too. But before he could say anything, everything faded to black.

**A/N – oh no! What's going to happen to our favourite baby boy?! Stay tuned for more, folks! Reviews openly welcomed!**


	3. After The Fall

**Chapter 2 **

Hotch ran into the ambulance that rushed JJ to the hospital. It was bad. He held on to her hand. He couldn't help but stare at the agent that was always so light-hearted, so enthusiastic and comedic, even during the toughest cases. He could barely see her face—it was almost completely covered by the oxygen mask and C-collar. Her forehead was covered by the tape that was taped to the supports on the sides of her head to keep it from moving. Her head was wrapped in large amounts of gauze to stop the bleeding from the back of her head. The gauze was covering her right eye completely, seeping with blood faster and faster by the minute. Her cheeks were draining of its usually vibrant pinkish colour.

The medics that were helping JJ were still working on her. The first medic talked into the radio. "We have an agent here, mid 30's, female. Suffering massive head trauma and possible spinal damage, we're going to need an OR opened up immediately." They were still connecting tubes on tubes to her arms and wires to her chest. Another medic was gently holding her head in a position that didn't make the glass shard injury worse. Aaron was getting anxious from the possibly of losing another one of his agents.

"Agent, do you know her blood type?"

Of course he did. He had to know the basic medical information of his team in case something like this ever happened.

"She's B-negative. Medical history is clean, I've done a background check myself."

And it was true. Never had she been admitted to a hospital – just trips to the doctor's office for rolled ankles and sprained wrists when she played soccer in university. And the one time she got into a fight with the unsub that left her with a black eye, a couple of bruises and cuts and a cracked rib. But other than that, she was as clean as a brand new bar of soap.

The ambulance came to a full stop, and the doors opened instantly. A team of doctors was waiting for the medics to get her out of the ambulance. Aaron helped the medics get the gurney on the ground, and in a heartbeat, they were wheeling her into the nearest available OR. They were bouncing off medical procedures that should be done, saying things he barely understood.

"She needs a transfusion, B-negative blood. She's bleeding out from the shard of glass in the back of her head. She's also suffering from a punctured lung from multiple broken ribs, looks like it caused severe damage – blood's been coming out her mouth. It may be collapsed by now, will need a chest tube…" The medics continued on with her condition to the doctors. Hotchner had completely tuned them out and focused on the fragile blonde on the gurney. Not once had he let go of her hand.

They reached OR-2, and pushed the gurney into the room.

He was stopped instantly by the nurse, and was forced to let go of her hand. "I'm sorry Agent Hotchner, but you're going to have to stay here. I can assure you that Agent Jareau will be in the best hands. If I get an update, you will be the first to know." The nurse patted him on the shoulder and went back into the OR. He stared in through the door's glass and helplessly watched as the nurses and doctors did their thing. They intubated her, started inserting needles into her arms, inserting tubes into her arm and transfusing blood because of the blood loss she suffered. He stopped looking. He couldn't bear to watch one of his best agents go through something like that. He went over to the waiting room and buried his face in his hands. She was the little sister he never had. All he could see was the young fresh-faced agent lying on that table. He couldn't help but think of her when she first arrived to the BAU.

* * *

_He watched her as she walked in through the doors of the BAU, with case files stacked up in her arms. He didn't know who she was, but was glad there was another fresh face to the bureau. He was unsure if she knew where she was going, or if she was completely lost. Nevertheless, he got out of his desk and went up to her to introduce himself._

_He walked up beside her. _

"_Hey there, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. What's your name, agent?" he was interested in getting to know this young woman._

"_Agent Jennifer Jareau, I'm the new media liaison for this unit." She looked at him with her radiant blue eyes and smiled. He couldn't help but smile back. He liked her already._

"_Well, Agent Jennifer Jareau, Nice to meet you. I'm assuming you're looking for the unit conference room?"_

_She let out a little chuckle and nodded yes. Hotch smiled._

"_Well, let me show you the way." He led her to the conference room and smiled again. Before leaving the room he turned around. "Hey, if you need a tour guide, or tips, or even someone to talk to, don't hesitate to come up to my office." He leaned against the door, waiting for a response._

"_Of course, Agent Hotchner. Thank you." She thanked. He laughed._

"_You can just call me Hotch." Jennifer chuckled and Hotch exited the room. _

"_Hey Hotch," she called out, as he turned around. "You can just call me JJ." She smiled once more, before sitting down to do assess the case files lying on the table. Hotch chuckled as we walked toward his office._

_He wasn't normally this nice to new agents, but there was something special about this woman. She was mysterious. He wanted to know more about her. However, he was unsure of how he felt about her. Nonetheless, he smiled at the ground and sat in his desk to finish the papers Strauss said she'd do, but didn't._

* * *

Aaron snapped out of his thoughts instantly when he heard the name "Morgan" enter the building. Rossi was running with the doctors, who were assessing Morgan's condition. Hotchner got up and ran beside Rossi.

"How's he doing?" He asked. Before Rossi could say anything, the doctor intercepted.

"During the accident, Agent Morgan's seatbelt stopped him from receiving the same force of impact JJ had sustained, but the seatbelt crushed his chest, causing cardiac tamponade. The only reason he was able to help Agent Jareau was because of the adrenaline rush he was experiencing during the initial moments after the impact, and that's what kept him going, but the moment he got out of the SUV and realized what actually just happened, his breathing spiked, and because of his condition, his heart was unable to function as it normally would when taking in large breaths. He collapsed, and we were able to stabilize him, but we need to get him into surgery to perform a pericardiocentisis, right now."

_This is worse than I thought._ Hotchner thought. The possibility of losing two agents was more than he could even comprehend. He just needed two of his best agents to be okay. Hotch stopped in the middle of the hallway, while Rossi continued on with the doctors, trying to see if Morgan's condition would change.

He had to call JJ's mother, and Morgan's family and tell them what happened. He dialed the number on his phone that patched him through to Garcia.

"Tech goddess here, right at your service!" She was perky as ever. She had no idea what had just happened to her babies.

"Garcia, I need you to get ahold of JJ's mom and Morgan's mom and sister. They've just been in a critical accident. I need them to know what's happened and get them down here. And Garcia, please, don't freak out. Everything is going to be fine." He hung up the phone and took a seat. Were they _really_ going to be fine?

He couldn't even understand what was happening. They were just about to finish up the case. His two agents were about to make a huge arrest. Hotch meddled on with his thoughts, he couldn't help but think about the driver that had hit them. Then he started asking questions.

_Where was the driver? Was he injured? Was he taken in to ask questions? Why hadn't anyone mentioned anything about the driver? _

The questions, scenarios and thoughts rambled on in his head. He wanted to stay at the hospital to be with JJ and Morgan, but he knew he had to go back to the crime scene. Something was off. They were on a rural road. The speed limit was 35. The impact of the crash left two agents in critical condition. There's no way the truck driver was going the speed limit. Truck drivers are supposed to go slower as well. He came down to two scenarios: either the driver was drunk, or this whole thing was staged.

_There may be more than one unsub._

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I am so terribly sorry for the late update of the chapter. I've been way too busy at school for my liking. However, reading these reviews is what kept me going! So I have rewarded you with this chapter! So based on the reviews, I've decided to go with a JJ/Morgan relationship and JJ/Hotch brother-sister relationship. This is an alternate universe; so stay tuned for flashbacks as to why JJ had established these relationships, and what had happened to Will! Thanks for reading, and thanks for the reviews! It's super encouraging to me, and it's the reason I've kept on writing! And thank you so bearing with me. Because of my heavy schedule right now, I might be limiting chapter updates every week to every second week. But I promise I will finish this story! Love y'all!


	4. Dancing With Death

Chapter 3

**A/N:** I am a horrible person. And I apologize. But here's the next chapter. It's going to be heavily medical-based. So you're going to see why there's been a very huge delay in updating… I had to do a bunch of research to get the terms and procedures just right. I mean, they still may not even be correct. I tried okay. And then I had to figure out how the hell I was supposed to write this. So this chapter is pretty much just word vomit with a little research. (Just kidding a ton of research)

**A/N2:** Hopefully by now you guys have seen the latest episodes of season 9 because if you haven't then this chapter **contains minor spoilers**. Also, you may or may not lose your stomach contents if surgery isn't your thing. Yeah I think that's a fair warning ahahaha. You have been warned!

**A/N3:** On a final note, I hope you guys understand why I've taken forever to figure things out, because I'm planning to do something huge with this story. Like this entire story is basically going to be my JJ-season-9-arc-speculation-fic-but-still-kind-of- unrealistic-theory haha. You'll understand when I get to the later chapters; I just haven't made it that far yet. But I promise you this story will blow your mind. Like, I'm even mindblown by what I have planned for this story.

**A/N4:** Also, I wrote this half loopy on cold medicines so please don't hate me if I've missed anything. All the good stuff's going to happen in the near future. Ok I am done with the author's notes, I am genuinely surprised if any of you actually wasted your time reading my dumb excuses instead of getting straight into the story haha. Well, carry on before you guys die of boredom. Thanks for putting up with me :)

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Dancing with death**

_She found herself in the bureau, alone, surrounded by nothing but empty desks. Everything felt so empty, so cold. It was odd – there was nobody working. In fact, there was nobody in sight._

"_Derek? Aaron?" she called out. There was no answer. "Penelope? Alex? David? Spence? Where are you guys? Hello?"_

_No answer. _

_This was freaking her out. It was like a ghost town. It's like the rapture happened and she was the only one left behind. It was beginning to feel like a nightmare._

"_What happened?" she asked herself. She couldn't remember what even happened. All she knew was that she wanted to find someone that could give her answers. _

_She made her way to the conference room, hoping she would find everyone there_

_The door was closed; odd. It wasn't usually closed unless there was a case meeting going on – a meeting she's usually involved in._

_Nonetheless, she opened the door. However, it was strange… She thought she would find behind that door was swivel chairs, the conference table and television screens that would display horrors that the team dealt with almost every day. _

_But not this time._

_Behind the door lay something she couldn't exactly explain._

_It was a light, and she dared to go through it._

* * *

"What do we have here?" the first doctor, Dr. Cassandra Edwards, asked the medics, while checking into JJ's eyes.

"Agent Jennifer Jareau, 34 years old, multiple injuries," the first medic answered.

The doctor interjected.

"I know who she is Rodriguez, I meant what happened to her?" The doctor shook her head, asking again.

"She coded twice in the past seven minutes. We were able to stabilize her, but if she codes again, we'll lose her for good. She's got a collapsed lung and respiratory complications. Also has head trauma and penetration wound at the back of her head, could be a possible brain injury. We'll need neuro and ortho in here, this one's a nasty one."

"Cardiac tamponade?" Dr. Edwards asked.

"No, that's the other agent. She needs the blood drained from her lung." The medic stated.

"Okay, page Dr. John Lewis from neuro and Dr. Ivan Harris from ortho. I don't care if they're in surgery right now. Tell them that we have a high priority situation, and that I'm going to need them when I'm done with her – how are we with that chest tube?"

"Right here," the nurse said, as she handed the tube to Dr. Edwards. This wasn't looking good at all. This agent was high priority. The consequences were costly if this agent were to die on her table – from what she's been told. Obviously she couldn't believe it herself, but apparently this agent was very important, coming from the state department back in DC. Why else would she be assigned to work on this agent? She was the best cardio-pulmonary surgeon Arizona had to offer. She even received a had a high priority call only minutes before JJ came in from an Agent Cruz to leave in the middle of another surgery to attend to this agent. So of course she wasn't going to ignore these mysterious orders.

Dr. Edwards speculated that Agent Jareau might know something of great value to the American Government.

Nonetheless, she shook off the multitude of thoughts running through her head, and did what she knew she did best – save lives. And right now, she needed to focus on saving this one.

"Scalpel please," she ordered, as the nurse handed her a scalpel and made a small incision on JJ's right side, under her right breast. She had to make the incision deep enough to reach the right lung. She put the scalpel to the side and grabbed the tube off the table, inserting it in Jennifer's body. It took a few moments for the tube to reach the lung. And when it finally did, there was blood draining out from the tube and onto the floor.

"Crap, she's bleeding out, we need to go in now, nurse take over here."

Her heart rate was increasing, and the blood was pouring out faster than it's supposed to. Edwards needed to find the source of the bleeding. She began the incision to JJ's chest, hoping she would be able to stop the bleeding before this agent bled out.

There were three people working on JJ – one nurse was busy hooking JJ up to a ventilator, an anesthesiologist prepping more anesthesia, making sure she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the surgery, and the medics – one inserting tubes of the units of blood into her arm, and the other still carefully keeping the shard of glass still at the back of her head.

_The amount of injuries this woman sustained is overwhelming_.

Dr. Edwards couldn't even believe that a woman this small survived this much trauma. She's got respiratory complications, spinal and head complications. Edwards would've sworn that by the end half the hospital's best surgeons would be in here.

In minutes, Dr. Edwards was fully inside the chest cavity, and instantly found the source of the bleeding.

"Damn it, right rib bone 3 nicked the superior vena cava," she said under her breath.

She was going to need a suture kit to sew the vein back together.

"Dr. Hayden, suture kit please," she asked the young intern. He was a nice fellow.

He grabbed the suture kit and made his way back to the doctor, opening up the kit, revealing its contents. The doctor took the forceps and the suture material and made her way to sewing the vein back together.

JJ's vitals were good. Strong, even. She was stable. Blood pressure was at a moderate rate. Hasn't gone into fibrillation yet. It was surprising, considering the amount of trauma she's already gone through with the doctor repairing the damaged vein.

_This is good._ The doctor thought to herself. _She's a strong one. _

Thirty minutes passed when Edwards finished the suturing the vein and cauterizing the tissues around it, to make sure that nothing else would interfere with the fresh sutures in her major vein. She also spent a bit of time cleaning around the area, so Dr. Harris wouldn't have a hard time setting the bones in her ribcage. As soon as she finished up, Harris and Lewis arrived to take over. She may have stopped the bleeding from the inside, but this woman still had a bunch of injuries that needed to be taken care of. She backed off, as she let Dr. Lewis take a look at her head injury, and Dr. Harris to take a look at her ribcage. She was going to need an awful lot of work to be done.

Edwards frowned as she took another look at an unconscious Jennifer Jareau.

_She's gorgeous._

Saddened, she sent silent thoughts to the poor agent on the table.

_Just hang on, Agent Jareau. Just keep hanging on._

* * *

Derek was being wheeled into the OR right next to JJ.

"Cardiac tamponade, needs a periocardiocentesis. Agent is stable, and semi-conscious, but we need to get rid of these fluids now. No time for anesthesia, just give him pain meds, this is going to be a quick procedure." The doctor calmly stated.

The nurses grabbed the needles and necessary equipment to relieve Morgan of his condition. It was a simple, yet complex procedure. All they needed to do was insert a large needle, to remove the blood from the pericardial sac. The needle is inserted in the heart in such a way that it doesn't damage any arteries, or the heart itself – that's the complex part. But once it safely drains the heart from filling up with excess blood, the pressure in the heart is relieved, and the heart can start pumping blood normally.

Dr. Wilson finished the procedure, and gave the nurses the go-ahead to take him back to the patient room. All went well – and the doctor was pleased that he would have good news to share with Agent Morgan's team. Morgan was a tough guy – he wasn't even sedated for this one, and not a sound came from him. Surprised everyone in the OR.

The nurses were already off, putting Morgan into a hospital gown, and giving him pain meds. It wouldn't be long until he would wake up, and they knew it.

Honestly, the nurses were just taking their time because Morgan was gorgeous – they were basically drooling over him. They fought over who would get to be his nurse. Unbeknownst to them, he was happily taken by someone else. The doctor just laughed, as they went off down the hall. He was to tell Morgan's team that the procedure was a success, and that he should be waking up anytime soon.

As for the other agent… He was unsure. He saw of the horrendous injuries she was suffering from. He sighed and sent his thoughts for the lady agent that came in before him, before approaching their team to bring the news.


	5. Relapse

AN: chapter contains minor spoilers if you haven't watched 9x06. hope you guys are enjoying the story.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Relapse **

Dr. Wilson made his way to the waiting room. Hotchner, Blake, Rossi and Reid were all waiting, nervous for the results of their two agents.

Hotch was on the phone, pacing, talking to the chief of the local police department, demanding to know why their officers hadn't picked up on the driver's whereabouts. It was suspicious how there were no reports of a driver from any of the uniformed officers on the scene. But he knew that it was out of their control. If the driver ran, then he ran.

Honestly, he was too distraught seeing JJ and Morgan like this. The possible loss of two agents would be too much for the team. And personally, for him as well. JJ was always there for him when Haley died. She helped take care of Jack when Jessica couldn't. And he returned the favour with Henry, when Will passed a few years ago.

Morgan was like a brother he never had. They had their ups and downs through the years, but Aaron came to love him like his own. He was even convinced he liked Morgan more than he did his own biological brother, Sean.

The corner of his mouth formed into a small smile at the thought of the two.

As Dr. Wilson entered the waiting room, all four agents arose, anxiously waiting for the news that could either make or break the team.

Hotchner immediately hung up the phone.

Reid was the first to speak. "How are they, doctor?" There was a bit of reluctance in his voice. Reid was scared. Scared of losing his best friend; the mother to his favourite and only Godchild. He couldn't stand losing her, not like this.

The doctor offered a nonchalant smile, looking at each and every one of their nervous faces.

"Agent Morgan pulled through. He will be a bit groggy from the pain medication we've been giving him, as well as the antibiotics to ensure that no bacteria that he breathes in will infect his heart. Agent Morgan suffered from a Cardiac Tamponade, which is,"

"Is the pericardial sac filling up with fluids and blood" Reid cut in, with evident sadness in his voice.

"Correct." The doctor said. "We performed a pericardiocentesis, which went well. The fluids were drained from his heart, and he will be closely monitored over the next 24 hours. I am aware he can be very stubborn, so I've got nurses making sure he doesn't try to get out of bed, as his heart is still at a fragile state. I'm hoping you all could convince him not to get out of bed."

The team all collectively took a breath of relief, and nodded.

"Thank you, Doctor. What room is he in?" Aaron asked.

"PR023, just up one floor and along the hallway at the west wing. All of you can visit him now, if you'd like." The doctor nodded, about to leave.

"How's JJ doing?" Reid asked.

The doctor slowly turned around, hoping he would be able to dodge that exact question. A small frown formed on his face, signaling the team that he really didn't know what was happening with her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know yet. I didn't work on Agent Ja— " He immediately corrected himself.

"—JJ. What I do know is that three of our best surgeons are working on her right now, as we speak. If all goes well, I'd give about three to four more hours before she's out of surgery, but like I said, I'm not entirely sure what is happening. I will call one of the nurses down to give you guys an exact update."

Dr. Wilson patted the young doctor's shoulder before leaving. They were all upset that they couldn't get a definitive answer about JJ, but had faith that she'd pull through. They all knew how strong she was.

Rossi walked towards Blake, who was sitting down, and comforted her.

"How about we make our way to Derek's room? Get your mind off of things?" Rossi asked. She nodded ever so slightly, and stood up, as they both made their way down the hallway.

Alex didn't know everything about her, but they were close enough that JJ would confide in the older agent. Blake saw JJ almost as a daughter figure, a daughter she never had, but wished she did. If JJ were having a bad day, Alex would always be the first one she'd talk to. They would talk and talk, then laugh and joke. It was a girl thing. They had a great relationship going on – almost mother-daughterly like. JJ was a beautiful person, inside and out. She became truly fond of her, and likewise. Blake couldn't understand why terrible things happen to good people. She sent silent prayers, praying that JJ would pull through.

Rossi was thinking about all the times they'd talked over the phone while she was back at the pentagon. JJ never really talked to him often, but when they did, they had great conversations. They grew closer, particularly when she went away to work for the Pentagon. She was still in contact with the members of their team, but she didn't talk to them as much as she did with Rossi, talking about work, and classified things she wasn't even supposed to tell anyone else, but trusted Rossi with. They grew closer in such a way, that she even admitted seeing Rossi as her father figure.

_She grew up in a broken home. Her father died shortly after her sister's death, and her sister… Well let's just say that she grew up feeling empty. Her mother was always there to support her, but she never got that paternal influence. JJ admitted that she took on roles that were meant for boys, because she didn't want to be labeled as a typical girly-girl. She played many different sports, but played soccer because that's what she had an eye for. She made it through university on that soccer scholarship. For four years straight, they were state champions. She received MVP for all four years. However, she had no clue what to do with her life after graduation. She received offers from the US National Women's Soccer Team, but turned them down because she just didn't want to play soccer for the rest of her life. She wanted to do more than that. She wanted to make a difference. _

_That's when she found me at the bookstore. And when she bought that book, she knew she was going to apply at the FBI academy. _

Rossi smiled proudly to the thought of JJ coming so far. He knew she would be better off than the rest of them when she was forced to transfer. And he was right. Still, Rossi slipped an arm around Blake, comforting her, as they both thought about JJ.

* * *

It wasn't difficult for Dr. Harris to set JJ's bones back into place. However, they were extremely weak, and in need of great care in order to protect from anymore damage to the Vena Cava. He found himself finishing the procedure an hour and a half after receiving her x-rays. Dr. Harris was especially thankful Dr. Edwards managed to stabilize the agent before he came in, or his job would have been much more stressful.

She hasn't crashed in the past two hours, which was something everyone in the room was thankful for.

Dr. Lewis, on he other hand, was having a difficult time trying to think of ways to remove the shard without damaging the vital occipital vein, behind her right ear. They would have to cut into her head to remove the shard, and quickly suture the vein before she bled out. The medics did a wonderful job stopping the bleeding from the wound – it was actually one of the few cases they were able to keep the blood in he body, as more blood was being transfused. But they were worried about possible spinal cord damage.

Her head scans showed that the shard penetrated deep enough in her head that it may have severed a nerve or two that connected the spinal cord to the brain.

However, that would be another surgery to be worried about, after she recovered from this one.

As Dr. Harris finished up, Dr. Lewis was now the lead surgeon. And everything was to go smoothly.

Because if it didn't, the repercussions would be costly.

And they would have the blood of a highly important government agent on their hands.

* * *

_She was now sitting on a hammock on the front porch of her childhood home. _

This is strange _she thought to herself. Again, she was surrounded by nothing but an empty street and empty houses. There was no one in sight. She still didn't understand what was going on._

Wasn't I at the bureau five minutes ago? I was at the round table, wasn't I?

_She continued looking around, desperate to find an answer. She couldn't piece together the events that led her to this seemingly, post-apocalyptic world._

_Or was she dead?_

_She shook off the thought, wandering to the backyard. It hasn't changed since she moved out. The trees were obviously bigger, but the patio set hasn't changed. Even her old tire swing was still up and hanging. She relived the memories of her childhood days – the days when everything was simpler, and happier. _

_She recalled the best days, when she would be playing with her older sister. _

_She knew she was just annoying Rosaline, but her older sister loved her so much that she couldn't say no. They would play for hours, until their mother would call them in for dinner. _

_She smiled at the thought of her sister._

_The deciduous forest lined around the entire town. She was 'fortunate' enough to be living in a town that was trapped in a forest... something she's always been afraid of for no reason. It seemed even funnier that they lived so close to it – the forest out, beyond the fence of their backyard, giving at least 300 meters' distance before the start of the woods. She didn't dare to go through them, not even as a child. _

_She continued looking off into the distance, until she heard a familiar voice._

"_Hey, Jenny." _

_She teared up before turning around. It was a voice she's wanted to hear ever since she was a kid._

_Tears freely falling down her face, she turned around and embraced the figure standing behind her._

"_Dad…"_

* * *

David and Alex both reached the doors to Morgan's room, surprised by the noises coming from it. They could hear laughing, chuckling and sarcastic comments being made.

"Typical Morgan," Rossi chuckled. Blake allowed for a small grin to form.

They entered the room, finding Morgan smiling and laughing, Skyping with his family back home. They were unable to come to Arizona, but were notified of what happened by Garcia. The nurses explained that as soon Morgan woke up after the surgery – which was literally fifteen minutes ago, he asked for one of the nurses to grab his tablet. He had to call his mama and sisters.

"Looks like he's going to pull through just fine agents," Nurse Hardy smiled, as she nodded to the agents.

"Thank you," Blake said. The two agents advanced toward the bed, smiling, as they saw their agent laughing and smiling. They've never seen Morgan so happy like this.

"Amigos! How you doin'?" Morgan smiled, offering his hand out to the older agents for a fist-bump.

"Apparently not as well as you, look at you!" Rossi laughed. "I take it you're probably still high on pain meds," he joked. Morgan and Alex both chuckled.

"And I've never felt better," He grinned, looking into the tablet. "Hey ma, say hi to SSA's David Rossi and Alex Blake – you've met Rossi, but haven't met Alex before," he paused again to look at Alex. "Alex, this is my mother, Fran, and my sisters Sarah and Desiree"

He turned his tablet towards Alex. "Hello there! I wish we could meet under different circumstances. Nonetheless, it's really nice to meet you guys!" Alex waved back.

"_Oh I could say the same. Derek's quite the piece of work." _Fran paused._ "But it's really nice to meet you too! We've heard so much about you!"_ Fran said over the tablet. Derek turned the tablet back his way, bidding his goodbyes for now. "Hey ma, I gotta go. I think the pain meds are kicking in, and I may or may not pass out in like five minutes. Love you guys, and I'll see you soon!" he winked and blew a kiss, turning the tablet off.

"Unusual thing for him to do, but then again man is on pain meds so who knows what else he might do," Rossi joked with Blake. They both laughed.

"Hey guys," Derek breathed. "Thanks for coming to see me. It means a lot… Tell everyone I love them…"

Suddenly, the colour from his face started to drain. His breathing was labored. The monitors that surrounded him started to beep and beep.

Worried, Rossi ran up to him. "Derek? Derek talk to me!"

Blake ran out to the hallway, calling for the nurses.

Derek's eyes struggled to stay open, his labored breathing much more obvious. Rossi wouldn't let go of his hand.

"What's happening?!" Rossi almost yelled. Blake didn't exactly have medical training in the traditional sense, but she knew exactly what was happening.

"The surge…" She said under her breath.

"What the hell is that?" David asked, slowly panicking.

The doctors ran in, one doctor finishing Blake's sentence

"The surge is a final 'burst' of energy someone experiences as they're dying… It's a relapse. Agent Morgan must've been feeling like that ever since he woke up. He didn't want to scare his family so he used his final bits of energy to tell them he loved them, damn it! We need the crash cart!"

Rossi was forced to let go of his hand, as the doctor cut in to check Derek's heartbeat.

"I'm sorry but you two need to get out of here," the doctor ordered. They hesitantly made their way out of the room, still watching the doctors' work on their agent.

_This couldn't possibly be happening right now_…

* * *

Hotchner and Reid were still in the waiting room, waiting for JJ's results as they heard the code red beeping over the intercom.

Both agents froze, as they heard the familiar room number being called over the speakers.

"Isn't that…?" Hotch asked. He didn't even have to finish his sentence.

"It's Morgan's room." Reid stated. They both sprinted to the nearest staircase to see what was going on.


	6. You Lost Me With The Twins

**Chapter 5 – You Lost Me With The Twins**

**Quantico, VA, 3:49 pm**

Penelope Garcia was sitting behind her desk, worried sick, desperately hoping for a new update on her chocolate Adonis and precious sugarplum. She couldn't stand the thought of losing them now – not after almost losing Prentiss.

_You two better cut the crap and come home safely to me…_

She just sat at her desk, dumbfounded. She had no idea what to do. She felt absolutely helpless. She just couldn't understand – they were so close to closing the case. They were supposed to be home three hours ago, and then _this_ happened.

Garcia continued praying to based God that her avengers would find the son-of-a-bitch that hurt her babies.

* * *

**Glendale Police Department, AZ**

"What the hell do you mean we caught the wrong guy?" Sergeant Johnson demanded. She wasn't pleased about this. It would make not just the department look bad, but the FBI as well.

"Ma'am, his fingerprints indicate that this man is not Wallace at all… It's his twin - Wallace is still out there," the officer said.

"Damn! Put the APB out on Wallace. This time we'll get him, his brother isn't going anywhere. I need to call SSA Hotchner." She nodded, allowing the officer to run off and alert the rest of the department they needed to find Wallace. The sergeant found herself speed-walking to the conference room, pulling out her phone, speed-dialing Aaron Hotchner.

_Damn it! Pick up Hotchner!_

* * *

**Glendale Memorial - B Hall, West Wing**

Spencer and Aaron sprinted up the staircase that led to the west wing of the hallway. Rossi and Blake were at the end, waiting outside Morgan's room.

They caught up with the two of them, catching their breath.

"What happened?" the boss asked no one in particular.

"Relapse… He was weaker than we though. Derek's been weak this whole time. He had a surge and then crashed…" Blake sighed. They all were aware what usually happened to patients that experienced this 'surge'.

"No…" Reid protested. He knew Morgan was stronger than that. He just had to pull through. Spencer walked up towards the glass window of the room, watching his friend lying on that bed, dependent on a ventilator to keep him alive. Saddened, he turned away and started walking back towards the staircase.

"Reid? Where are you going?" all three asked.

"I… I uh… I need to get some air," he explained. He couldn't take this in at all.

He was a man of taking in tons of information at a time. But he just couldn't take in the fact that his best friends – Morgan and JJ – were both on the verge of death. They didn't deserve this at all.

Spencer made a silent promise he would personally put a bullet through the head of whoever did this. He already lost the love of his life. He almost lost Prentiss. He wasn't about to let two of his closest friends die because of a bastard that drove a semi into their SUV – he just wasn't going to allow it. He made it to the staircase, and in minutes he was out of sight.

They all felt the same way. Aaron was incredibly worried. For once, not displaying his usual stoic demeanour, he paced up and down the hallway. He couldn't believe this was happening.

_They said that he was doing just fine half an hour ago. They said that he'd recover nicely from the surgery. Why is this happening?_

Suddenly, his phone rang. He silently prayed the call would be about the bastard of a driver that did this to his agents.

"Hotchner," he answered.

"_Agent Hotchner? It's Johnson. We have a problem. We caught the wrong guy."_

"I'm sorry?" He froze. The expression on his face worried the other two agents. They made their way toward him.

"_We just got the fingerprint analysis back, the man your agents apprehended at the scene was not Wallace Hines. It was his twin brother, Jesse Gentry. You need to get to the station, ASAP." _

"We'll be right there. Thank you."

He put his phone in his pocket, now displaying a distressed look on his face. Rossi and Blake didn't say a word – they knew what he was going to say.

_God damn it._ He took a breath before speaking.

"We got the wrong guy."

"Wait, what?" David and Alex both questioned.

"We need to go back to the station, now. I'll give you more details on the way. Let's go." He ordered.

Aaron wanted Spencer to come along, but he knew he would need some space for now. He sent a text to the young doctor.

_Reid, we're heading back to the station.  
__Complications in the arrest.  
__Will call you for more details.  
__Stay with Derek and JJ.  
__Update us when you can._

He pressed the 'send' button and quickly put his phone back into his pocket as the trio sprinted towards their SUV.

* * *

As they drove to the station, no one said a word. Aaron had already explained the situation to David and Alex.

There was dead silence in the vehicle, but they all had the same, collective thought going on in their heads.

_Was it Wallace that hit JJ and Morgan?_

* * *

AN: its a pretty short chapter, I know. just trying to stretch out the story as i'll be busy for the next few weeks. as always, thanks for being patient with me.


	7. O Where Bart Thou?

**Chapter 6 – O Where Bart thou?**

"_Hey, Jenny."_

_She couldn't believe it. Bartholomew Jareau. Her father. The voice she's wanted to hear for so long, finally audible to her own ears. Tears were freely flowing from her eyes. She turned around to warmly embrace the man standing behind her._

"_Oh dad… It's been so long," she cried._

"_I know baby girl, I know." He took her into his arms. "You've grown up so much sweetheart. I'm so proud of you."_

_She was still trying to make sense of this frighteningly vivid dream – she just had so many questions._

"_I've missed you so much dad," she choked. The man who's been missing from her life for the past twenty years, finally present in front of her. She was in disbelief. She couldn't understand why everyone kept leaving her. First Rosaline, then her father shortly after due to a stress-related stroke from losing Roz. _

"_I know honey. I've missed you too," he replied. They started walking in the direction of the woods, as he continued on. "But there's something I want to show you."_

_He walked off towards the woods, as she stood there, watching her father disappear into the distance. She couldn't make sense of what was happening, but decided to follow. She ran up to catch up with him._

_They both entered the dark woods – something she's tried to avoid for her entire life. She always hated the woods, and never really understood why. But walking into them made it a living nightmare for her. She closed her eyes, holding on to her father as they continued on. However, after a few steps in, they came to a stop._

"_Princess, you can open your eyes."_

_She opened her eyes, shocked to see that she wasn't outside, in the woods anymore, but in an unfamiliar hospital._

"_What… Um, dad? What are we doing here?" she asked._

_He said nothing, still taking the lead through the hospital. JJ was confused. She still had no idea why she was stuck in this dream. She had no idea what was happening. She couldn't understand why she was seeing her father. She couldn't understand how she kept 'teleporting' to different places almost every five minutes – first the bureau, then her childhood home, the woods, then this hospital? It couldn't possibly be this easy unless…_

_She found herself staring right down at her own body, lying lifelessly on an operating table. She took a step closer towards the glass, watching as the doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to save her life._

_JJ saw herself hooked up to a multitude of machines – wires flowing from her chest to what looked to be the heart monitor, tubes that connected from her arms to an IV, bags of blood, and a pressure cuff. But what struck her the hardest were the bandages and tape all over her face; tape covering her eyes, and the tape stretching from across her face, right over her top and bottom lips, keeping the breathing tube in place. She could barely even see her own face. Her body was covered in bruises that ranged from a variety of colours, not to mention her abdomen being cracked wide open, as a handsome dirty blonde doctor worked to fasten some sort of metal brace into her ribcage._

_She teared up, seeing herself like this – seeing her body go through this. It was then she realized why she was here, with her father, looking at her own self through the observation deck. _

"_Am I dying?" she choked out. She couldn't handle the possibility of dying right now. She turned around, hoping her father would have the answer she was looking for._

"_Dad, am I dying?" she asked once more, the intonation in her voice a little more aggressive than before._

"_That's up to you, sweetheart." He replied, half-smiling. He knew it wasn't the answer she wanted, but he knew there was a choice to be made. It was up to Jennifer to decide if she wanted to stay or not._

_Reading the expression on his face, she knew what he meant. However, she was conflicted. She wanted to stay with her father to catch up on everything. She missed him so much. But she also didn't want to stay. She couldn't bear to leave her only child behind. She couldn't bear thinking of her child becoming parentless – especially after Will's passing._

_She quickly turned around again, looking through the observation panel, watching as the doctors started working at a faster pace – she was really dying. She noticed as the monitors started blinking, reading off stats of her vitals, and dropping by the second, watching as the erratic line on the heart monitor turned into a flat line._

"_No, no, no!" she cried, before everything turned black._

* * *

AN: got a treat for you guys. uploading a new chapter sometime tomorrow to make up for the last chapter and this one for being so short. just working out some kinks and finalizing it. as always, bless your hearts for your patience with me.


	8. Everyone's Got Secrets

**Chapter 7 – Everyone's Got Secrets…**

* * *

**Glendale Police Department, AZ**

The team drove up to the entrance of the police station. They were all worried about JJ and Morgan, but they trusted that they were in good hands. Plus, their boy genius was still hanging around, so they weren't completely in the dark.

Sergeant Johnson came out to greet the team. She explained what was going on, as they walked down the hallways of the station.

"Sorry to make you guys rush back like this, but we're running out of time – Jesse's a paralegal and already opted for a lawyer, and from what I understand, his legal team is the biggest pain in everyone's ass that's ever had to deal with them."

There were hard creases in her forehead. Hotchner and the team could only believe that this case was giving her more than just a headache.

And quite frankly, even worse for them as well. They were in the middle of a double case – the murders of those women and the bastard that rammed into JJ and Morgan, landing them a place in the hospital.

"Who's this lawyer?" Rossi asked.

"Mark Anderson," she paused, stopping where the two-way glass mirror was positioned, giving the team a full view of Jesse and his lawyer, who were quietly chatting about what their next step should be. She turned to Hotchner, with a stressed expression on her face.

"—Mark Anderson and his firm are threatening to sue the FBI if you continue to 'harass' Jesse." She turned back to look at Jesse again.

"Damn it," Rossi spat.

"We have to cut him loose." Hotchner stated.

"Great." Blake sighed.

Sergeant Johnson looked at Hotch one more time, as he nodded for confirmation to let Jesse go. They really had no other option. They all knew that the bureau was still experiencing budget issues. If they were to be sued, it would be disastrous. Agents would have to be laid off and transferred again. The BAU may be dismantled. They didn't want that. Not since they had no current Section Chief. All three agents collectively rolled their eyes and shook their heads, as Jesse and Mark stood up making their way to the door.

Tension was heavy when the sergeant let them out of the room. All three agents glared at him – they all knew he was involved with something, somehow. They just haven't figured it out.

_Yet._

Jesse received the hardest glare from Hotchner, prompting his lawyer to speak on his behalf.

The man was tiny compared to Aaron. But he definitely had the balls to threaten him.

"If you come near my client again, I will have the FBI sued for everything they've got. Understand?" he was so close to the agent, that it wouldn't have been surprising if Hotchner made a move.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Face." Aaron threatened. Rossi and Blake both glared the lawyer down as well, giving him a warning look to literally back off before their boss made a move that could end his career.

With no further words being exchanged, the two were off, exiting the building, surrounded with the press that was waiting outside the station. There were tons of questions being asked – Mark speaking to the press and claiming that the FBI's 'profiling' was just 'intellectual guesswork.'

Aaron's fists were clenched so hard, he didn't realize his fingernails dug through and caused his palms to start bleeding.

He wasn't usually this pissed off, but the fact that two of his agents were in the hospital, fighting for their lives, just because they were chasing an absolute idiot that had no reason to run in the first place, pissed him right off.

"Aaron, you're bleeding," Alex pointed out.

He immediately unclenched his fists, looking at the blood that was slowly oozing from both hands.

_Didn't even feel a thing._

They both walked him over to the conference room, where Johnson had grabbed a first aid kit to tend to his hands. She wiped them clean of the blood, applying polysporin. He didn't want them to be bandaged – he thought he would look ridiculous. However, she did manage to talk him into using medical tape to at least protect the open wounds from infection. She finished up, and he thanked her. She got up and left the room, giving some space to the agents. Johnson figured they'd need a bit of time to think about their next move.

Hotch slowly pulled out his phone from his pocket. Rossi and Blake both chuckled, as they've never seen their boss so angry and helpless before.

"What?" he asked, trying to hide a smile.

"Never seen you so pissed off before, boss." Alex chuckled.

"You know, back there, with the idiot lawyer, we were betting on how long it would take you to knock him out." David added, giving Alex a playful look.

"We guessed that maybe if you slapped him hard enough, it would take the man right out of him. But who knows. The man definitely has balls standing up to you like that." They all laughed.

"Well clearly he's over his head. We're going to find a way to nail them in the ass. Can you guys call Garcia? I need her to look into these guys. Something's definitely not right." Hotchner addressed, looking over the evidence board again.

"Couldn't agree more," David agreed.

"Why would Jesse make a break for it, if he knew he was innocent from the restaurant shooting? He had a solid alibi; he's just not Wallace. Unless,"

"Unless he has something to hide as well." Alex added. Both men nodded, as they looked back at their evidence board. They needed to connect the dots all over again.

* * *

**Garcia's Computer Lab, FBI – Quantico, VA**

"Ask and you shall receive my darlings,"

"_Hey Garcia, we need you to look up something for us. There were complications in the arrest we made earlier – Wallace wasn't actually Wallace, it was his twin brother, Jesse Gentry. We need you to dig up everything about their family, and that stupid law firm they're connected to. We just need a lead, Garcia."_

She was typing as fast as lightning, as Alex fed the information to her over the video.

"Well, I can already tell you where Wallace is hiding," she said.

"_Where?"_ all three agents asked

"I put a track on his cellphone, it looks like he's at Carla Hines' – his mother's house. Go, I've already sent you guys the address on your phones and tablets."

"_Thank you Penelope."_

"Hey guys wait," she paused. They all looked into the camera, looking right back at her.

"How are my hunnies doing?" Her face went from happy-go-lucky to dead serious in a fraction of a second.

The agents gave her a saddened look. They had no new updates since rushing back from the hospital. Blake was the first to speak.

"_You're going to have to call Spencer, sweetie. The last we heard was that JJ is still in surgery and Derek… Well Derek isn't looking too well either."_

Penelope tearfully nodded, as she let them go catch Wallace. She knew she couldn't keep them around, just so she could interrogate them about the conditions of her little pieces of perfection.

However, she knew she needed to help her avengers right now. She quickly wiped the tears from her face, cracking her fingers and quickly getting back to work, searching up everything about this family.

* * *

**Carla Hines' Residence**

The team was already geared up, ready to tactically assault the house. Honestly, all three of them wanted nothing more than to kill this man if he really did smash the truck into their beloved agents, but they had to keep him alive to ask the questions.

There were only five of them on this assault – Hotchner, Rossi, Blake, and two police officers. Hotch stood in front of all of them, giving them the orders.

"No one shoot. We need him alive. If he pulls out a gun, go for the leg, arm, shoulder, something non-vital."

They all nodded, as they drew their guns out of their holsters. One by one, they made their way to the house. The two police officers crept their way to the back, as the three agents made their way to the front door. Rossi wedged his body against the wall, Alex behind him. Hotch had his hand on the door, nodding at Rossi to take point.

The door was unlocked, so they used it to their advantage. Wallace had no idea that they were there.

Rossi and Blake both entered the house, guns pointed, aiming down the sights. Hotch saw the two police officers enter from the back.

David signaled for Hotch to take the kitchen, as Rossi took the upper floor. This left Blake to take the basement.

Hotch slowly made his way through the kitchen. He didn't notice there was a concealed trap door, which allowed Wallace to notice when someone walked over it. As soon as the agent walked over it, Wallace immediately shot out of the door, sprinting towards the front entrance to the house.

Aaron turned around, yelling for Wallace to stop.

"Wallace Hines! Stop right there!"

But as usual, the perps never actually listen. Hotchner sprinted after him, yelling through the house, notifying his agents and the officers that Wallace was on foot, headed out into the neighborhood.

In seconds, they were all out of the house, chasing after Wallace. He turned into an alleyway, only to be cornered by the young officer. He attempted to pull out his gun, but before he could even do it, Hotchner administered a shot right to Wallace's left shoulder. He immediately dropped the gun and fell to his knees.

A loud cry of pain was released from him. The agent holstered his weapon, allowing for the young officer to arrest Wallace.

"Wallace Hines, you're under arrest for the murders of four women and the restaurant shooting. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say or do can be used against you. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you…" the officer went on with the Miranda rights, as he escorted him to the police cruiser.

The three agents all looked around. They spotted Wallace's vehicle and walked towards it.

They all saw the restaurant uniform and the decomposing skull of his ex-girlfriend in the back of the truck.

"Yup, that's definitely him." Rossi pointed out.

Alex cringed and walked away.

Aaron stood there, pulling out his phone to notify Sergeant Johnson about the arrest.

* * *

**Glendale Memorial Hospital, AZ**

Dr. Spencer Reid was sitting by Derek, downing what seemed to be his seventh cup of coffee in the four hours he's been there. The caffeine seemed to be the only thing that was keeping him calm at the moment.

He just stared at the agent, praying and hoping that he would wake up. He didn't deserve to be in this position.

Spencer just stared blankly into open space, observing and listening to the rhythmic beat of the bag compress that seemed to be keeping Derek alive. Reid held his hand, silently promising he'd find the person that did this to him and JJ.

However, he couldn't stay in the room much longer. It was dampening the mood. He had to keep an optimistic attitude – that they would make it through this. He slowly made his way up, promising the agent that he'd catch the guy that did this and put them behind bars for the rest of their life. Spencer turned away, exiting the room.

He paced through the hospital back and forth, still waiting on an update on JJ. He knew Morgan was stable – just not in the best condition. The nurses already told him that they looked through his medical records and will. There was nothing that suggested he signed a DNR. Which was good, because vegetable or not, Morgan was still a fighter.

Spencer had to believe he was.

He was about to take another sip of his coffee when his phone started to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket, looking at the screen.

_Penelope Garcia_

He quickly swiped across the lock screen, answering her call.

"Hey Garcia," he greeted.

"_How are my babies doing Spencer?"_

He choked up.

"Morgan's in a coma and JJ's still in surgery…"

He needn't say more. He could hear Garcia sobbing over the phone. Her cries struck his heart. They were all hurting for JJ and Derek.

Spencer frowned, not knowing what else to say to Garcia. He stood in silence, still listening to Penelope crying over the phone. He wanted to comfort her, but had no idea how. He cursed his genius mind for being able to know exactly how to formulate and solve complex mathematical equations, but not knowing how to comfort a living, breathing woman. Moments after, she finally managed to get a sentence out.

"_Reid, please just find the scumbags that did this to them."_

"I will." He promised her.

They collectively hung up, as there was nothing more to say. The young doctor continued walking around the hospital, trying to find someone that could give him more information about his best friend.

He continued looking around, looking for the doctor in charge of JJ's surgery. With the doctors from her surgery nowhere to be seen, he became fed up, and went straight to the information desk. The receptionist from earlier must've ended her shift.

He took out his credentials, showing it to the receptionist.

"Excuse me ma'am? FBI. There was an agent admitted here a few hours ago, her name is Agent Jennifer Jareau… Are there any updates as to what her current condition may be?"

She turned her attention from his gaze back to her computer screen. "Um… Just give me a second to pull up our in-patient log,"

Spencer nodded, waiting for the response.

"Ah yes, she came out of surgery seven minutes ago. You should be able to see her in ICU-012." She said, smiling back at the young doctor.

"Thank you," he said, as he left the desk, making his way to the ICU.

He continued down the unfamiliar hallway, trying to decide if it was a good idea to see her yet. He couldn't bear thinking of this tough, strong-willed woman being confined to a hospital bed. He just couldn't see it.

Spencer turned around a corner, reaching the rooms – getting closer to hers.

_ICU-009, ICU-010, ICU-011…_

He had no idea what to expect.

_ICU-012_

He entered the room, looking around. The curtains were closed around the bed space. He wondered why it would be closed.

Spencer slowly walked up, brushing the curtains out of his direction, widening his eyes in pure shock, horrified of what lay behind them.

* * *

AN: ok wait before you guys hunt me down and shoot me i have a perfectly logical explanation for this.  
ha ha just kidding i actually don't. but i can promise you the payout will be amazing. stay tuned for more! (if you dare)


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